AAA No. 5 St. Albans’ hot start built around young talent

ST. ALBANS, W.Va. — A young and athletic St. Albans baseball team has emerged early this season as a state tournament contender out of Class AAA.

Without a senior on the roster last year, the Red Dragons finished 16-19, building momentum and playing their best baseball late in the season.

“We basically had everyone back and had a pretty motivated group in the offseason,” said head coach Rick Whitman. “Our kids worked hard in the weight room and did the things they needed to do out of the season. Our expectation was to be a lot better than we were last year and to take it day by day, getting better with each day.”

St. Albans eliminated Logan in sectional play last year, but ultimately fell in the sectional finals to eventual state runner-up Nitro.

“We had talent last year, we were just inexperienced and it was boys playing against men,” Whitman said. “We felt like (we could take a step) with some more experience, our kids growing and working in the weight room.

“Four years ago, that Nitro team was kind of like our team,” he continued. “They were a bunch of young kids, they weren’t physically read to compete, but they got themselves ready and we saw the run that they went on. Our kids hopefully took that to heart and decided that we can be good too, we just have to work at it.”

And so far, so good in 2017 for the Red Dragons.

With a 9-0 record entering Saturday, St. Albans has outscored its opponents 77-17.

“You never can anticipate starting out 9-0 or 0-9,” Whitman said. “You just take it day by day and try to get better each day. We’ve started out pretty good. We’ve pitched really well, played pretty good defense and we’re having better at-bats.”

Sophomore left-hander Jake Carr is 2-0 on the young season, including a no-hitter thrown against Woodrow Wilson back on March 24. Sophomore right-handers Nick Loftis and Connor Fizer are also 2-0 apiece as well, while Chayce Matheny has put in significant relief-innings work.

At the plate, Carr has thrived in the lead-off spot for the Red Dragons, while third baseman Nic Feazelle has been driving in runs from the middle of the lineup.

“We’ve been a balanced attack offensively,” Whitman said. “We’ve played some small ball and we’ve got a little bit of speed in our lineup, just trying to put pressure on defenses and create opportunities to score.”

Another boost this season for St. Albans has been freshman Noah Cummings in the DH role, providing more power to the middle of the lineup. In the first five games alone, Cummings collected nine hits in 14 at-bats, including a home run, two doubles and eight RBIs.

“He’s a great kid and really works hard,” Whitman said. “He has a chance to be really special. For a ninth grader, physically, he’s just stronger than most typical ninth graders. He has a gift that when barrels the ball up, it comes off the bat different than everyone else.”

St. Albans began the year just outside the top 10 in Class AAA, but catapulted up to No. 5 following its initial 6-0 start and 10-2 win over then-No. 9 Greenbrier East.

“Early on, we used it as fuel that we weren’t in the top 10,” Whitman said. “Then we jump up No. 5 and we had to (tell the kids) ‘Alright, you’re not the Yankees, yet.’ Early on we were the hunters, now we’re being the hunted.

“But, like I told them, we’re not good enough to not bring our ‘A’ game and beat people,” he said. “Anybody on our schedule can beat us and we feel like we can compete with anyone on our schedule.”

Plenty of early season challenges still loom for St. Albans, which is scheduled to face No. 3 Ripley on Monday and No. 4 Cabell Midland on Tuesday.

The Red Dragons are aligned in sectional play with No. 9 George Washington, No. 10 South Charleston and Capital. The opposing section features Greenbrier East, Princeton, Riverside and Woodrow Wilson.

“These regional games (in the regular season) are important, because these coaches are going to seed you (in the postseason), which will have an impact on when you play and where you play,” Whitman said. “It does give the regular season more merit, because you feel like you’re playing for something.”